When It Comes to Data Personalization: With Great Data Comes Great Responsibility

Artificial intelligence is no longer about bots taking over the world. It’s one of the most important and viable trends in customer experience, according to Paul Greenberg, and will only continue to be leveraged in more sophisticated ways as brands seek to get closer to the customer.

The SmarterCX team recently asked consumers how they feel about artificial intelligence and data personalization, and the line between creepy and convenient interactions. We then continued to ask CX experts, analysts, and practitioners for their advice on how to leverage AI to create a personalized, valued experience without crossing that line.

Here’s the advice they shared about using data personalization responsibly.

Protecting that line between personal and creepy is very important for brands. You definitely do not want to cross that. What I have found is that when customers perceive a value exchange, they are happy with that level of personalization. In other words, if they are getting more back from the brand than they perceive that they are giving up. And when that relationship is protected, customers stay engaged.

CX today is being driven by data. This lets us know what the customer cares about. Having that data, we can then apply analysis and predictive analytics. And the key here is relevance because we’ve been collecting the right type of data.

When you have relevance, you avoid the creepy factor. On the other hand, you also have to be careful because you do have this data and with great data comes great responsibility. And that means you have to be careful not to present yourself as being overly intrusive.

The fact of the matter is that customers do appreciate when you’re thinking for them, because they might not have known the information in the first place. And more often than not, they’re going to be able to accept what you are trying to tell them.

Peter Coffey, Client Advisory & Digital Platform Strategy SME

It’s about doing some testing and experimentation of what’s that creepy borderline versus what do people have a comfort for. It’s about understanding what to weave into their experience so they think, ‘Oh wow, this person really knows me, and they are not creeping me out; they’re giving me information when I need it, real time.’

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